Panola College hosted the spring Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA) Region III meeting on Friday, February 19th. Held each semester, the region meetings bring together student government associations from all the East Texas community colleges for a time of fellowship and discussion of current educational issues in the State.  The colleges in attendance on Friday included Panola, Tyler, Paris, Texarkana, Navarro, and Trinity Valley. More than 100 students and advisors were present.  This was the first time that Panola College has ever hosted a Region III meeting, according to Brian Naples, faculty advisor for the Panola College SGA. 

 

The meeting began at 11 a.m. with opening remarks by Panola President Dr. Greg Powell. Dr. Powell welcomed the East Texas colleges and invited the students to tour the campus.  TJCSGA state president Rameez Sohail also gave opening remarks.  Rameez, who has visited several regional meetings across the State, said he was amazed by the spirit of the Region III students and expressed his desire to see that spirit carried to the State convention. 

Texas State Representative Chris Paddie was the keynote luncheon speaker. He discussed the importance of civic participation in government. He spoke on his personal history of political involvement and urged the students to carry over their SGA enthusiasm into their daily lives.  Representative Paddie answered several questions from the students and remained behind for several hours after his talk to speak with the students one-on-one and in small group conversations. 

 

The afternoon sessions featured several talks concerning campus safety. Retired campus Police Chief Ernie Davis spoke to the students on how they can prepare their campuses for the new “carry on campus” law that takes effect in August  2017. CPR trainer and Panola College graduate Jodie Lightfoot provided several students with a crash course on how to perform CPR in an emergency situation. Campus criminal justice instructor Mark Dickerson addressed students on the problems colleges face when drinking muddies the waters of consensual or nonconsensual contact.  “The sessions were well attended and received high praise from the students,” Naples said. 

 

While the students attended the sessions, several Panola College faculty and staff members spent their afternoons reviewing nominations for Region III awards.  Each year, the Region III colleges present awards for student of the year, chapter of the year and advisor of the year. Award proposals are created by the students and the host school is responsible for providing the judges at the region meeting.  Panola College employees Sharon Peace, Don Cocklin, Tryphena Bledsoe, Charlene Johnson, Jennifer Coon, Jose Vargas and Bill Offer spent several hours sifting through the nominations. Panola College abstained from the competitions to remove undue favoritism in the judging. 

 

The evening was concluded with a general student government session. During this session, the awards were presented, outstanding business for the last session was discussed and several announcements were made in preparation for the State convention in April. Panola College will be sending five students to the convention.